


"The Storm"

by caseraphs



Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies)
Genre: AU, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-21
Updated: 2016-04-21
Packaged: 2018-06-03 14:23:09
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,090
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6614098
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/caseraphs/pseuds/caseraphs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Based on the short story "The Storm" by Kate Chopin.</p>
            </blockquote>





	"The Storm"

Daniel never liked these southern storms.  He knew Peggy would be at home, distracted, and probably forgetting to close an upstairs window.  He’d have to clean that up.  Michael tugged on his sleeve.

“Daddy? Is it going to rain?” Daniel smiled absentmindedly and patted his son’s head.

“Looks like.  You think Momma will remember to close all the windows this time?” He replied.  They were at the drugstore.  Just in town to get a few things, and the incoming storm went from bad to worse as Daniel and Michael perused around the little shop.  

Michael laughed and ran up to sit at the counter.  Daniel sighed and bought the boy a Coke, watching as the clouds finally broke.  The storm was violent, and it shook the pharmacy as Daniel sat next to his son.  He pulled a jar of pickles off the shelf and bought them for Peggy.  She used to crave them a lot when she was pregnant, and still sometimes she would get in the mood for one late at night.

* * *

 

Peggy hardly noticed that a storm was coming until the room around her went dark.  She was poring over a SHIELD file; being in charge of all offices south of Virginia got stressful.  The room darkened considerably, and when Peggy looked up, the first drops were already starting to fall.  She cursed to herself and went out to get the laundry off the line.

It was useless.  The rain had soaked her through and through before she even got half the clothes off the line, and to make matters worse, the sound of thunder seemed to be just behind her...

Except it wasn’t thunder.  Peggy turned towards the sound to find exactly what she had dreaded.  It was Steve, coming in on his motorcycle.  He drove it into the shed and ran out to Peggy, who was still standing dumbstruck by the clothesline with an armful of wet laundry.  

“Mind if I wait out the storm here?” He yelled over the sound of the rain, taking down the rest of the clothes and running towards the house.  Peggy didn’t have time to say anything until they got inside.  They were both dripping wet in the entryway.

“Fuck,” she said, running up the stairs and into the nearest room.  All the windows in this godforsaken house were open, and she was supposed to close them all before the rain got through.  Too late for that. 

By the time she got to the guest room, Steve was already there, shutting the latch on the last window.  Water pooled beneath the now-closed window as thick drops splattered against the pane.  Peggy grabbed a towel off the rack in the small blue bathroom and got down on her knees, wiping the hardwood and praying it wasn’t stained.

Steve’s boots were dirty.  Peggy looked up at him angrily, only to find him staring down at her softly.  

They talked, of course.  It was impossible for them to not speak, what with him being director of SHIELD and her being practically his second in command.  But he lived in New York, and she lived way down here in Georgia.  

Daniel and her had wed 5 years ago.  Steve came out of the ice just one year later, when Peggy was literally weeks away from giving birth.  She crossed his name off her list of what to call their baby if it was a boy.  She and Daniel settled on Michael, then moved down south to raise him.  And to keep away from Steve, but that was her secret.  

They hadn’t been alone like this since the war.  A lot had changed.  Peggy supposed she was more curvy and tired-looking than she was back then, but Steve hardly noticed.  Her eyes were the same, and her lips.  He’d been looking for an excuse to come down here for a very, very long time.  Peggy stood up and straightened her clothes, which she now realized was ridiculous, since they were sopping wet and probably completely ruined.  

Steve’s fingers came up under her chin slowly, and the rain shook the house.  He lay his palm against her cheek and sighed.  They leaned in together, and there was something so familiar about their lips that Peggy had to break away. 

“Valkyrie, it’s just the same,” she murmured.  Steve nodded slowly, as if to say he knew exactly what she meant.  They shared many kisses in wartimes, but none so pure and desperate as the last one on the Valkyrie.  And, now, this one as well.  

The sheets in the guest bedroom were pristine, white.  They were uninterrupted and unslept in.  As Steve lowered Peggy onto them, slowly, they dampened and wrinkled, but neither of them noticed.  He could hardly believe how easy it was to fall back into this old rhythm.  

Peggy’s skin was soft and white as porcelain, and they fell together as though no time had passed at all.  Her mouth always found his in earnest, and what started out soft and slow soon turned rough and rushed.  They were perfectly in sync, as always, and as quickly as it had begun, it ended.  They lay tangled together, listening to the roar of the rain and the crack of thunder, until it began to subside and Peggy finally remembered herself.  

* * *

 

Daniel was worried she’d be mad.  Michael was covered in mud; he hadn’t been able to stop his son from splashing in the mud puddles on their walk back.  When he came in the door, Peggy was cursing and stuffing sheets into the washing machine.

“We’re home, darling,” Daniel called.  She turned around quickly and shoved her drying hair out of her face.

“Oh, thank goodness.  I was worried,” she said, smiling and giving Daniel a quick kiss.  He waited for her to say something about Michael, but when she didn’t, he took the jar of pickles out of his coat pocket.

“We got you these.”

Peggy grinned, and the day was set right.  They had dinner at the table.  Everything felt light and clean after the rain.  Daniel slept better that night than he had in months.

* * *

 

Steve was in town, staying in a hotel.  He called Howard up to let him know he would have to stay down here for longer than he originally thought.  When Steve finally went to sleep that night, all he could see behind his eyelids was the picture of Peggy lying there naked on those beautiful white sheets, her damp curls spilled about her head like a halo.


End file.
